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Is your 2015-2019 A/C system abnormally loud?

  • Yes, too noisy

    Votes: 55 48.7%
  • No, seems fine

    Votes: 58 51.3%

Is your A/C abnormally loud?

22K views 53 replies 34 participants last post by  joescastle 
#1 ·
I've been going back and forth with my GMC service department over this issue. I say my A/C system is too loud. They say "it's normal for a Canyon or Colorado". I said it's much louder than any other vehicle I've ever owned or driven, even the Chevy Malibu they gave me as a loaner while they had my truck for other service. They said you can't compare apples and oranges, which I responded that it's like comparing red delicious apples and honeycrisp apples, they're both apples and they're both red. The Malibu and Canyon are both GM vehicles with A/C systems that both operate on the same refrigerant principles.

The service manager then suggested that I take this matter up with GM Engineering. Really? The customer needs to communicate with GM Engineering?

Please take a second to respond to the poll so I can identify the amount of 2015-2019 Colorado and Canyons that are having this issue. Specifically, the noise seems to be compressor related and most noticeable while idling or at slower speeds (road noise seems to drown most of it out).
 
#33 · (Edited)
I don't necessarily believe there is no CFC/ozone connection, but I do find it "interesting" that NASA triumphantly announced CFC levels are down and the hole is measurably smaller literally just a few months after a study in Nature showed Chinese factories have been cranking out CFCs at levels that nearly wiped out everything the west did to eliminate them (80% of 1987 levels, where we "should" have been near 0% for something like 10 years now). Something doesn't add up. But global warming is like religion and politics, you'll never convince anyone who disagrees with you, regardless of your position.

The sad truth is that the change is based upon fuel economy... and not because either refrigerant actually has anything to do with fuel economy.

The marketing-friendly explanation for the switch is because R134a is considered a greenhouse gas, but that is not the ozone layer problem (real or not). Refrigerants are assigned a "global warming potential" (GWP) and a separate ozone depletion potential (ODP) rating. Lower GWP is better and is based on CO2 which has GWP of 1. R134a was rated 1430 where as R1234yf is rated as just 1, the same as pure CO2. Good old R12 was rated at 2400, and in the earliest days of commercially-available refrigerants there was R11 which is way up there at 4000. GWP is not the same as ozone depletion potential (ODP), so the change wasn't related to that. R12 is the baseline for ODP at 1.0, but both R134a and R1234yf are rated 0.0.

However, there is no mandate to use it. It's measurably less efficient, it costs more, it's harder and more expensive to work with, it's harder on the equipment, and for extra bonus points, it's mildly flammable (to the point both SAE and CARB are pushing to prohibit availability to the public). So why would any auto-manufacturer bother?

Because the EPA gives CAFE CO2 credits for R1234yf.

The credit is 13.8 grams/mi for cars and 17.2 grams/mile for trucks. The LGZ Colorado is rated by the EPA at 9.2 tons of CO2 per year assuming 15,000 miles, which is 562.45 grams/mile, so we endure shitty AC for a 3% bump to the truck's CAFE rating.

I have a secret theory that the hippies keep pushing increasingly worse refrigerants because they like BO.
 
#35 ·
The other sort-of-interesting thing I stumbled across while looking up that stuff is that Mercedes has been working on a way to use pure CO2 as a refrigerant (I think it's called R744). I couldn't find whether it actually went into production but in 2016 they were planning to roll it out in Europe in model year 2017. It wouldn't be legal in the US yet anyway, because, ironically, the EPA hippies have to approve the use of a naturally-occurring gas, because Reasons. :roll:

Going back to the question of AC noise, there was a thread here awhile back about how our trucks use a compressor and mounting setup similar to recent Cadillacs that are also running R1234yf, and apparently they were so noisy and had such bad vibration that I think there was a recall (might be wrong about the recall part but I know it was a huge source of complaints).
 
#39 · (Edited)
My AC compressor is definitely too loud. I can hear it at highway speeds with the radio off. I also have fan wining when set really low, but it goes away when it is turned up due to the noise of the air flow. I will have them check it out when it goes back in to have the spacer installed to correct the rear lean.
2018 CCLB V6 4x4 4200miles
 
#41 ·
My first car w/ ac was a 1970 Mercury Marquis Giant road Bomb! Smooth.. When you turned on the AC.. engine at idle would almost stall the motor[429 cid and 335 Hp] Gas mileage would drop by 5 mph [mostly when driven around town.
My Colorado does make "Noise" when fan is on full speed...But when cab is cool. I turn down to 1 position.
 
#42 ·
My A/C makes a droning/humming/buzzing type noise that comes out of the center console. I've also had a musty smell that starts blowing every once in a while. Dealer said they checked with another Colorado and the sound is "normal." Neither issues were on the 2019 Silverado and 2019 Traverse I had for loaners.
 
#43 ·
my 2019 z71 has what i find to be a very strange noise that comes and goes only when the compressor is on. if you have ever taken a crystal glass partially full of water, then ran your damp finger around the edge of the glass, you know that this will create a high pitch ringing sound. that is exactly what it sounds like inside the cab of my truck. i have never heard any noise like this in any vehicle i have ever owned. something has to be vibrating at just the right frequency to make that high pitch ringing sound. it sometimes sounds like a whistling noise but can change in pitch when speeding up or slowing down. it is absolutely not the fan. i don't think anything is really wrong, it's just a vibration pitch, but i hope someone can figure out exactly what it's coming from so the sound can be dampened out.
 
#47 · (Edited)
I was also intrigued by the different type of noise coming from the actual compressor. Our Collys are equipped with a new type of compressor... variable displacement. I think this is the reason for the different type of noise we are hearing and we may not be used to it, at least from the compressor itself. The "buzzing" that I am hearing is no doubt from the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal applied to the variable displacement solenoid in the compressor. Everything about the Colly is high tech!

A/C Compressor

The A/C compressor uses a conventional belt driven magnetic clutch to engage and mechanically turn the compressor. When the A/C switch is pressed, the HVAC control module sends an A/C request message to the ECM via serial data. If specific criteria is met, the ECM then grounds the A/C compressor clutch relay control circuit, which will switch the A/C compressor clutch relay. With the relay contacts closed, battery voltage is supplied to the permanently grounded A/C compressor clutch. The A/C compressor clutch will then be activated.

This A/C system utilizes a variable displacement solenoid valve to alter the amount of displacement created by the turning of the compressor. The HVAC control module provides both battery voltage and a pulse width modulated ground to the variable displacement solenoid valve. When the A/C switch is pressed, the HVAC control module grounds the variable displacement solenoid using a (PWM) signal in order to determine the amount of compressor displacement. The performance of the A/C compressor is regulated based on the adjusted interior temperature.



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#48 ·
I've been going back and forth with my GMC service department over this issue. I say my A/C system is too loud. They say "it's normal for a Canyon or Colorado". I said it's much louder than any other vehicle I've ever owned or driven, even the Chevy Malibu they gave me as a loaner while they had my truck for other service. They said you can't compare apples and oranges, which I responded that it's like comparing red delicious apples and honeycrisp apples, they're both apples and they're both red. The Malibu and Canyon are both GM vehicles with A/C systems that both operate on the same refrigerant principles.

The service manager then suggested that I take this matter up with GM Engineering. Really? The customer needs to communicate with GM Engineering?

Please take a second to respond to the poll so I can identify the amount of 2015-2019 Colorado and Canyons that are having this issue. Specifically, the noise seems to be compressor related and most noticeable while idling or at slower speeds (road noise seems to drown most of it out).
I have a 2021 Colorado and the HVAC is noisy, its like noises are being transmitted thru the ducting as its noisy with just the fan when you bring the RPM up a little and really noisy when the AC compressor is on. The interesting thing is as your raise the fan speed the noise does not change so its not the fan. I have not had a chance to take it to the Dealer yet.
 
#49 ·
This is my second Colorado z71 I had an 18 had no ac compressor noise. Now my 2021 with 4000 miles on it is noisy ac compressor whine turn the switch off it goes away. Dealer just replaced the ac compressor and it still makes the exact same compressor whine. Does not seem normal. Does Gm have any TSB’s on this problem?
 
#53 ·
My 2016 has a noisy AC compressor, but it's a subdued sound, clearly the compressor, comes and goes as the AC button is activated and deactivated. Most noticeable at low speeds but I suspect that is because at higher speeds the noise is still there but drowned out in the road noise. I bought the truck as a Certified Pre Owned so I have a bumper to bumper warannty on it. I have already had the dealer check it out right after I bought it becuase it sounded so different than any other vehicle I have owned in 60 years of driving. They say it's normal. After reading through this discussion I suspect they are right, it is normal in these vehicles. We shall see...................
 
#54 ·
I have a 2019 Colorado and the A/C compressor is very loud. I have been working in the automotive service industry for over 20 years now and can tell you that this is "NOT NORMAL!" I have been putting up with this noise since I leased in 2019 and can't wait until it's up. I took it in to the service department were I leased it when I did the 1st oil change and complained about and the A/C compressor was replaced. I complained the following day since I had to p/u after service was closed (since I work at a service dealer my self. I get out late) because the same noise was there. When I took the car back in and sat with a tech and duplicated the noise over and over again with him sitting in the car, turning on and off the A/C compressor and he clearly stated that they all do this and understands that it is loud, but there is no fix for it. Basically, the manufacturer, being Chevrolet in my case, does not want to provide the support to the service dealers with these very known issues. The only issue I have with this truck is that horrible noise. It is very annoying and embarrassing when you are sitting in your car trying to have a conversation and the other person says, your car is very loud. I was hoping to find in this forum that Chevy would have stepped up to the plate and would have taken care of many customers with this a/c issue. Oh, and by the way, do think that Chevy is the only manufacturer out there using R-1234yf. A simple Google search for all of you thinking that this is maybe causing the issue, well, here you go, Ten of the OEM groups currently produce more than 90% of their vehicles sold in the US using R-1234yf. These OEMs include: BMW, FCA, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, JLR, Subaru, Tesla, and Volkswagen Group. Go sit in there vehicles and see if you experience the same thing. If Chevy can't fix it, then they lost me as customer. Easy peezy, Lemon squeezy.
 
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